THE KING OF LOCHLIN'S THREE DAUGHTERS.
From Neill Gillies, fisherman, near Inverary.
THERE was a king over Lochlin, once upon a time, who had a leash of
daughters; they went out (on) a day to take a walk; and there came
three giants, and they took with them the daughters of the king, and
there was no knowing where they had gone. Then the king sent word for
the sheanachy, and he asked him if he knew where his lot of daughters
ha d gone. The sheanachy said to the king that three giants had taken
them with them, and they were in the earth down below by them, and
there was no way to get them but by making a ship that would sail on
sea and land; and so it was that the king set out an order, any one who
would build a ship that would sail on sea and on land, that he should
get the king's big daughter to marry. There was a widow there who had a
leash of sons; and the eldest said to his mother on a day that was
there, "Cook for me a bannock, and roast a cock; I am going away to cut
wood, and to build a ship that will go to seek the daughters of the
king." His mother said to him, "Which is better with thee, the big
bannock with my cursing, or a little bannock with my blessing?" "Give
me a big bannock, it will be small enough before I build a ship." He got a bannock and he went away. He arrived where there was
a great wood and a river, and there he sat at the side of the river to
take the bannock. A great Uruisg came out of the river, and she asked a
part of the bannock. He said that he would not give her a morsel, that
it was little enough for himself. He began cutting the wood, and every
tree he cut would be on foot again; and so he was till the night came.
A Weary Little Mother, color woodcut, 1914.
A Mother's Lullaby
A big, old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things.
One
summer night the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her
little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded
sweet. But the tree remembered something sad.
"Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."
On
the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many
people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns
all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.
It
was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to
them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be all right soon."
Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullaby. A young girl was singing to a little boy.
"Mommy! Mommy!" the boy cried.
"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.
She was very weak, but she tried to be a good mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.
"Mommy," the boy was still crying.
"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.
After
a while the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother
did not stop singing. It was a sad lullaby. The girl's voice became
weaker and weaker.
Morning came and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.
Isle of Man TT
Motor racing first came to the Isle of Man in 1904 when the Gordon Bennett car trials were held.
In England the Government made it impossible to close the
public roads for any sort of motor racing so a proposal was put The
Manx Government brought in new legislation to enable the closing of public roads for motor racing and the
Isle of Man was ready to take up the mantle of the Road Racing Capital of the World, a slogan it has used for many years.
The first motorcycle race held on the Island was the
qualifying trials for the International race to be held in Austria. The
course used ran from Quarter Bridge south to Castletown, then back
through Foxdale to Ballacraine, then reverse way to the TT back to
Quarter Bridge.
The first TT races where held on the triangular course
with the start at St John's. The riders proceeded along to Ballacraine
before turning left and following the current TT course through to Kirk Michael. At Douglas Road Corner in
Kirk Michael, the short course left the current TT course and followed
the coast road to Peel, before turning left again and heading back to
St John's. In 1907 two races were held on the short course with H. Rem
Fowler winning the twin cylinder class on a Peugeot-engined Norton at
36.22mph and Charlie Collier the single cylinder class on a Matchless
at 38.22mph. They each set the fastest lap in their respective classes,
Fowler at 42.91 mph and Collier at 41.81 mph.
The short course was used for the first 4 years and in 1910
Charlie Collier won the last TT on the short course on a Matchless at
50.63mph. The fastest lap that year was by H Bowen on a BAT at 53.15
mph. In 1911 the racing moved to the Mountain circuit, which is used
today.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE ISLE OF MAN T.T. RACES? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE ISLE OF MAN? YOU CAN TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD LIKE I HAVE BUT LIKE MY BEAUTIFUL WALES, THE ISLE OF MAN IS FABULOUS. IF YOU LOVE BIKES , LIKE I DID, (STILL DO) BUT I'M PAST THE RIDING BIT. WOW GO WHEN THE TT IS ON. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. STEP INSIDE TO REMEMBER THE DAYS OF THE DUCATI AND THE ENFIELD, THE TRIUMPH AND THE OLD BONE SHAKER ITSELF... THE B.S.A.
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